Turkey's Central Bank Holds Key Rates For Sixth Month

(RTTNews) - Turkey's central bank held its key interest rates steady for a sixth straight month on Tuesday, amid mounting political uncertainty.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Turkish central bank decided to keep the one-week repo rate unchanged at 7.5 percent.

The overnight lending rate was maintained at 10.75 percent and the borrowing rate was retained at 7.25 percent. The decision was in line with economists' expectations.

"Taking into account the uncertainty in domestic and global markets and the volatility in energy and food prices, the Committee decided to implement a tighter liquidity policy as long as deemed necessary," the bank said.

Inflation slowed to a 26-month low in July. It eased to 6.81 percent in July from 7.2 percent a month ago.

The bank observed that loan growth continues at reasonable level due to the tight monetary policy stance and macroprudential measures. The bank viewed that the implementation of the announced structural reforms would contribute to the potential growth significantly.